My 'Happy' Ending
by JereduLevenin
Summary: Where was HIS happy ending? Rated PG13 for language, violence, and ZxC. Nothing that wasn't in the game. Zack's final moments, frozen in the memory of every soul who has seen his fall. The end of one story, the beginning of another. Tear jerker.


Ah, I just watched _Last Order_ again, and I got the idea to write this. My take on everything that happens after the last scene in the movie. I just elaborated on what we all saw in lego-graphics, really... but still.

Title: My "Happy" Ending  
Rating: PG13 for language and maleXmale pairing.  
Pairing: Zack/Cloud. Duh.  
Warnings: Deathfic. Gore. Violence. IT WILL MAKE YOU SAD. But, nothing that didn't happen in the game.  
Ohhh... artwork to go with the story. I just finished it, so it wasn't in the original upload of the story: 

Zack ran. He ran until the air became fire in his lungs. He ran until the trees blurred into a monotonous green haze around the edges of his sight. He ran until his vision swam with black specks and the sweat ran into his eyes and down his chest and back and soaked his standard-issue SOLDIER uniform. He ran until he forgot everything but the motion of his legs and the weight of the body he was carrying. 

The man driving the pickup truck had been so kind, but once the situation turned deadly, he had (understandably) asked the two of them to leave. But that was all right. He and Cloud were almost there. Almost. He could see Midgar, could see the green and brown haze blanketing the skyline, could see the ring of death surrounding the city. Nothing grew within a five-mile radius of the city, these days. Nothing except the flowers in the church. Aerith's church. He had to get Cloud to the church; Aerith would be able to help him. She had to. He couldn't take Cloud to a hospital; as soon as they were identified, they'd be found and killed… or, worse, carted off to Hojo's lab beneath the mansion again. Aerith could talk to the planet; she should know how to cure Cloud's mako poisoning. After all, the Lifestream was made of mako. He couldn't leave Cloud alone, not yet. Not until he was better. Otherwise it would be no better than handing him to the wild beasts… or leaving him for the REAL monster… Hojo.

The bullet wound in his shoulder was really starting to throb… and the blood had long soaked through the fabric of his shirt, drenching his left arm. It was annoying, as it made his hand slippery, and it was hard to keep a firm grip on Cloud. It also seemed that most of the nerves in his fingers were numb… perhaps the bullet had embedded itself in the nerve cord… that would explain why it burned worse than Ifrit's flame itself. It made it even more difficult to carry the body. He needed to keep his sword arm unencumbered, but it was hard to hang on to the other boy when his arm was being unresponsive. Zack glanced back over his shoulder. He could just make out the glowing red scope of one of the soldiers' helmets. Damn. He still hadn't managed to lose them. The Turks couldn't be far behind, either. In fact… _shit._ A bullet tore through his chest. He turned back around and ran faster.

---

Zack paused, panting for a second as he finally broke free from the trees. A cliff face. He looked over his shoulder; the soldiers had closed the distance between them considerably. But where were the Turks...? He laid Cloud down in the dirt behind him and grabbed his Buster Sword. He would protect Cloud with his life, if that was what it took.

"Sorry, Cloud… I … didn't get us… all the… way… to Midgar…"  
_  
Dammit! _It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. That last bullet must have punctured his lung… that _would_ explain the bubbling, wet rattling sound when he drew in the next breath… _SHIT!!!_ This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. He and Cloud were going to start over! Where was _his_ happy ending? What had he done to deserve this? Well, maybe he had it coming, in some kind of twisted logic, but he refused to believe that. But what had _Cloud_ done to deserve this? Zack had failed. He needed to get Cloud to Aerith. Even if he couldn't make it to Midgar, now, he should at least ensure that his little buddy was safe… but that wouldn't be possible. He cursed himself mentally. He was going to betray Cloud; he was going to break not one, but two promises. He would be leaving Cloud alone… and…  
_  
Oh, Aerith… I won't be coming back, after all… please forgive me. Forgive me, Cloud… _

He readied himself for the inevitable fight.

The first trooper charged, saber aimed directly at his heart. He raised his sword to block, the weightless (to Zack, anyway) weapon suddenly so heavy in his grip. He stared at the face of the trooper, inches from his own.

"Aaron?" he whispered. "You were in my squad! What did they tell you? Why are you doing this?!" The trooper did not answer him. Instead, he grunted, wrenching his blade away and swinging at Zack's head. Zack felt a strange calmness settle over his mind. He slammed the hilt of his blade into the man's skull and heard a sickening crunch. These men… he no longer knew them. They had been brainwashed. Hell, the entire world seemed to be out to get him. As the next man charged, Zack swung his sword in a deadly arc, disemboweling the man. His motions became mechanical as the soldiers came at him, one after another. He was tiring. He couldn't last much longer, and they knew it.

Finally, the inevitable moment came. He stumbled as he parried, and his side was suddenly left wide open. Another soldier had made his way around him, and he was now leveling his rifle at Zack's unprotected side. Zack grunted as the man emptied an entire clip into his side. He stood his ground and sent the soldier before him smashing into the dirt. He started to back up, but after the second step, his foot slipped in the pool of blood that had collected there. He could sense Cloud a few feet behind him. He stumbled again, and another soldier managed to land two more shots, one in his chest… Zack thought he felt the bullet graze his heart. The other bullet hit his sword hand… the blade fell from his nerveless fingertips. A third bullet hit his midsection, the impact causing him to stumble back another step. He thought he felt something burst, deep inside._ Shit, shit, SHIT. _

He could barely see, now. His vision was black around the edges, restricting his line of sight to only that which was directly in front of him. His heartbeat was fluttering weakly; pretty soon, now, it was going to give out. He was drenched with blood and sweat. He glanced down at his lover one last time. Cloud stared up at him like always… and Zack felt a burst of hope and despair. For Cloud's eyes were no longer expressionless. They now stared up at him with recognition and terror, pleading silently. He was still unable to move._ Oh, Gods, Cloud… I'm so sorry._ Zack choked as another round of bullets embedded themselves in his chest, blood blossoming like some sick, twisted parody of a rose. He was caught by surprise, and the impact sent him reeling backwards to thud into the dirt. His vision swam. He thought he saw a man in a blue suit walk up to stand in front of him  
_  
…Ah… so that's where the Turk went…_

A soldier came to stand beside the Turk. Oh, his eyelids were so heavy. He struggled to keep them open. He gasped, or tried to, as another round of bullets buried themselves in his chest. He gurgled softly for a second, broken lungs rattling, then fell silent as he finally gave up on trying to breathe. It just hurt too much. He turned his head, cheek resting in the dust, and saw Cloud watching him helplessly. Zack tried to work the corners of his mouth upward into a smile. It held, trembling, for a second. Then his eyes slid shut for the last time as his body jerked upwards as a final round of bullets was fired into his chest. His mouth slacked, the smile gone.

---

Cloud watched as a fine trickle of blood made its way down from the corner of Zack's mouth. He couldn't even turn his head to look away… the ShinRa men were walking toward him, now. He half-closed and unfocused his eyes, hoping that the men would think he was still out of it.

"What about this one?"

"Just leave him. He's as good as dead, anyway."

The men walked off.

---

It was a long time before Cloud was finally able to move. He'd been trying for hours. He was about to give up when he felt something give way. He blinked, the motion no longer an immense effort. He twitched a finger, then closed his hand into a fist. He drew his hands up next to his chest, then pushed himself up into a kneeling position. He panted, finding the simple motions still exhausting. Slowly, he dragged himself over to Zack's body. It hadn't moved from where it lay since the last shot was fired. Hesitantly, Cloud held a trembling hand over Zack, then finally touched a finger to the other boy's cheek. It was cold. Cloud finally let his tears fall. His hand clenched into fists. His arms finally gave out, not yet able to hold him up for any length of time. He fell across Zack's chest, his cheek becoming smeared with blood. He sobbed. It was the only thing he could do. He cried for their dream. He cried for their fate. He cried for their pain. He cried for the unfairness of life. He cried for his best friend. He cried for his lover. He cried for the only person who had ever reached out to him. He cried until his tears ran out.

Cloud stayed like that for hours. He couldn't bring himself to move. Zack's body had been somewhat warm at first, but the last of the body heat had finally slipped away, and now Cloud was shivering. It had begun to rain and he needed to do something or he would get pneumonia. As miserable and heartbroken as he was, Cloud didn't think Zack would appreciate him dying of something as stupid as pneumonia after Zack had sacrificed himself to save Cloud from death at the hands of ShinRa. He slowly rose to his feet, feeling lightheaded for a moment. He sniffled, then turned his face upward to the rain, letting it wash the blood away from his face.

He slowly trudged over to the spot where the Buster Sword lay. Hesitantly, he reached down to grab the hilt. To his surprise, he found himself able to lift it. His strength was returning quickly. He walked over to where Zack's body lay and turned to face the cliff's edge. There it was. Midgar. The place where everything began. He looked down to Zack one last time, a single tear falling to land on Zack's upturned palm, before looking up again. He decided to make a promise… that way, he could keep Zack with him.  
_I'll live out both our lives._

He turned and walked away without a backwards glance, eyes glistening with the light of mako and yet-unshed tears.

Owari.

Arrrgh!!!!! Okay, I finally have that out of my system. Jeez, I'm on a roll. I just like sad stuff, I guess. This one is a lot more depressing than "Helpless," though. 

Cross-posted. 

Please, I really appreciate feedback.


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